State-by-State Map: Where Migrant Children Are Placed

Honduran undocumented immigrant Laura Fabio, 2 waits for her mother after they crossed the Rio Grande illegally into the U.S. on July 24, 2014 in Mission, Texas.

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During the first six months of this year, 4,280 children awaiting deportation proceedings were placed with families in Texas. Just one went to Montana.

The uneven distribution of children can be traced to the uneven distribution of Central American families. Children who travel to the U.S. illegally alone from countries other than Mexico and Canada are placed with sponsors, usually their families, while awaiting deportation proceedings to unfold.

With the influx of these unaccompanied minors, many states have expressed interest or concern about the number of children being placed in their states. Earlier this week, the White House hosted a conference call for governors, explaining that privacy restrictions do not allow them to notify governors when individual children are placed with families in their states. But some governors have expressed alarm nonetheless that they were not told how many children have been placed in their states.

After that, the Department of Health and Human Services, which places the children, released a state by state tally.

Here are some data on the children being apprehended at the border — and the states where children end up living in the U.S.

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Where Children Are Housed

Here are data showing, state-by-state, where the children have been placed, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency responsible for caring for unaccompanied immigrant children. Data are for Jan. 1, 2014 through July 7, 2014.

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